10 Things I Hate About You
by likecominghome
Summary: Maybe Lydia doesn't hate Stiles as much as she thinks.


**I hate the way you talk to me**

_"__I'm not saying it's bad, but it's bad."_

_She blinked before glaring up at him, pulling her lips downwards into a frown as she pressed her finger on the backspace key and erased the words on the page for what seemed like the millionth time. _

_They'd been at this for hours and they'd gotten nowhere. They were to work in pairs for a writing assignment in English class and thus far, the two of them had yet to come to any sort of consensus on how to start their paper. _

_She still couldn't believe she'd agreed to do this. She was all ready to ask Kira if she wanted to work together, like she always did, but Stiles had reached her first, jutting out his pouty bottom lip and looking at her with those big brown eyes that made her stomach feel as though it was participating in a gymnastics event at the Olympics. _

_"__If everything I write is so bad, then why don't you try writing something herself?" she shot back, annoyed that he was being so unhelpful. _

_"__Because you're smart and shit," he replied as though it was the highest compliment he could ever pay her. "You're supposed to be good at this."_

_She rolled her eyes. Despite the fact that he was praising her intelligence it was draining that people assumed that she were always good at everything. She had flaws as well and Stiles of all people should have understood. Growing up together meant that he'd seen her at her very best and her very worst, so the fact that he was putting her on a pedestal was irritating. _

_"__Alright," she sighed, knowing that arguing wouldn't get them anywhere. She shifted in her seat beside him at his kitchen table and tapped her fingers lightly over the keys of her laptop, not actually typing words, but hoping for inspiration. "Let's try this again."_

_It took another two hours and a lot of bickering, but eventually, they did manage to write some semblance of a thesis statement. _

**And the way you cut your hair**

_She'd never been so distracted. She didn't know why she couldn't focus on what Ms. Jacobsen was saying. All she knew was that every time Stiles weaved his fingers into his hair, tugging it backwards, she felt a knot tighten in the pit of her stomach. _

_Light streamed in from the side window, casting him in a halo that made him look almost too angelic. He sat with his brow furrowed and his lips pursed in concentration as he scribbled on a piece of paper. One hand tugged on his hair, as though that was the source of his focus. _

_She watched him carefully. The flush of his cheeks, the puckering of his lips, the slow blinking of his eyelids. She watched every slow moment until his gaze lifted upwards and his head turned in her direction. _

_Regaining her composure, she turned her attention back to the board, watching out of the corner of her eye as he ran his hands through his hair, disheveling it further before looking back down at his paper. She never knew she could be so mesmerized by the way a person played with their hair, but it was as though he had some sort of power over her. _

_Mentally scolding herself, she tried to pay attention to the math problem being written on the board, thinking he probably cared more about his hair than he did any other human being. This thought process allowed her to regain her focus. Though, she could have sworn she saw the corners of his lips lift upwards into a small smile. _

_But that was probably just a figment of her imagination. _

**I hate the way you drive my car**

_"__Could you go any slower?"_

_She rolled her eyes, refusing to push down further on the accelerator. "This is my car. I will drive the speed I want to, thank you very much."_

_He sank down lower in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting his lips in frustration. _

_"__Besides," she continued, "You were the one who begged me to drive you to school. I didn't have to say yes, I just did so out of the kindness of my heart."_

_He'd called out her name from his front doorstep as she were walking out to where her car was parked on the street that morning. Seeing as the two of them were going to the same place, it logically made sense for them to ride together and Stiles was elated because it meant he didn't have to take the bus. _

_"__Yeah, that was before I knew you drive like a grandma," he shot back, fixing out with a pointed stare, "Seriously, Lydia, there are people on bicycles passing us. Any slower and we're going to miss school entirely."_

_She raised an eyebrow in surprise, sending him a sideways glance. "Who knew you would be in a hurry to get to school?"_

_He shrugged and replied vaguely. "I have things to do."_

_Accepting his response and not pushing the issue because despite the fact that a small part of her was curious, she knew Stiles wouldn't hide something from her unless he really didn't want her to know, she nodded and came to a stop at a red light. Before she knew what was happening, he opened his door and ran around to her side of the car, pulling open the door and pointing to the street. _

_"__Get out," he instructed firmly. _

_"__What the hell, Stiles?" she cried out, panicked at the fact that the light would be changing in a matter of seconds and she hated being honked at. _

_Deciding there was no way to disobey with causing a scene; she reluctantly unfastened her seatbelt and walked around the car to the passenger side. He slipped into the driver's seat and fastened his belt, taking off at high speed as soon as the light turned green. Her fingers wrapped around the edge of the seat, her eyes widened in horror as they sped towards school, holding her breath the entire time. _

_"__What was that?" she spit out, her breathing haggard when he pulled into the school parking lot. "You could have got us killed."_

_"__Would you relax?" he said casually, reaching behind him to grab his backpack before stepping out of the car. "We made it here in one piece, didn't we?"_

_"__You almost caused about five different accidents," she said, shocked as she grabbed her bag and followed him towards the school entrance. "We could have died."_

_"__Has anyone ever told you that you need to lighten up?"_

_She rolled her eyes as they stepped through the front doors. "They don't need to. I hear it enough from you on a daily basis."_

_Flashing her a charming smile, he stopped in the hallway and turned to face her, his expression one of deceptive sweetness. "I'm sorry, Lydia. Next time, I'll ask if I want to drive your car."_

_"__I appreciate that," she nodded, stepping past him, "But I'm still driving on the way home."_

**I hate it when you stare**

_This was her favorite melody to play. It was soft and sweet and reminded her of quiet summer nights beneath the stars. She hummed softly as her fingers gently caressed the piano keys, touching them lightly before moving to the next one in sequence. She didn't consider herself particularly masterful, but she loved playing when she needed to clear her head. There was something about stroking the keys and making up random melodies that was extremely relaxing. _

_She stopped playing when the hairs on the back of her neck rose and she could sense someone watching her. Turning, her heart raced in fright at the sight of Stiles standing in her foyer, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. _

_"__Sorry," he said sheepishly, rocking backwards on his heels once before taking a step forwards. "I didn't mean to scare you."_

_He sat down on the bench beside her, their thighs brushing together, and nodded towards her hands. "Keep going."_

_"__You want to watch me play?" she asked nervously because she knew he was the better player; a hidden talent of his she'd discovered when she returned to her music class after school one day because she forgot her purse and found him playing as though he'd been doing it for years. _

_He nodded again, smiling softly and encouragingly. "I like watching you like this."_

_"__Like what?" she questioned, blushing slightly. He hadn't taken his eyes off her since she'd noticed his presence and she couldn't tell whether that made her nervous or annoyed. All she knew was that her stomach had never been this tightly knotted in her life. _

_He shrugged, holding his gaze, causing her heart rate to pick up. "You're so relaxed, so free. It's like you're completely at home."_

_"__This is where I do my best thinking," she admitted, her discomfort rising with each passing second that he refused to stop staring. _

_Clearing her throat, she turned back to the piano and began to play, fully aware that he was staring at her intently, and hoped the fluttering in the pit of her stomach would go away. _

**I hate your big dumb combat boots**

_"__X is equal to negative B plus or minus the square root of B squared minus four AC all over two A," she muttered to herself. _

_This was her least favorite subject to study, but it had to be done. So, for the past two hours, she'd been staring at her notebook trying to memorize formulas to no avail. This lack of success was due mostly to the fact that a certain someone would not stop stomping around her bedroom. She groaned as she heard it get louder and whipped around in her chair to throw a spare pencil in his direction. _

_"__Will she stop that?" she glared at Stiles, "I can't concentrate if all I hear is you walking."_

_"__Sorry," he cringed, smiling sheepishly, glancing down at his feet; "It's these new boots. I can't really walk in them quietly."_

_She followed his gaze downwards to see the chunkiest pair of black combat boots she'd ever laid eyes on. She raised an eyebrow. "Why are you wearing those? They're not really you're style."_

_He preferred sneakers, especially Converse because they made the least amount of noise while he walked, perfect for optimum sneaking capabilities. _

_He shrugged. "Scott gave them to me as a present, so I figured I might as well try them out. I'm just trying to get used to them."_

_Scott was Stiles's best friend and had given him the gift out of the kindness of his heart and Stiles wasn't about to take that for granted; he placed great value on friendship. _

_"__Well, could you get used to them somewhere else?" she said with a tired sigh, not wanting to come across as though she were scolding him because she understood his reasoning for wearing the shoes in the first place. "I need to study."_

_Sticking out his tongue, he lumbered towards the door, smirking as he left. "You're going to miss me."_

_She rolled her eyes and turned back to her notes. As if. _

**And the way you read my mind**

_Birds were stupid, she decided as she shot a glare to the hummingbird that had not stopped singing outside her window. Running her finger roughly over the surface of her desk, she brought it to eye level to find not a speck of dust and nodded triumphantly. _

_Cleaning was the most productive form of soul cleansing. Whenever she needed stress relief, she would spend the entire day cleaning every inch of her room. And today she was in particular need of a distraction. _

_The door to her room opened just as she pulled open her dresser drawer to begin sorting her clothes, and she raised an eyebrow in surprise when Stiles strode in and plopped down on her pristinely made bed. _

_"__What are you doing here?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips, a little annoyed that he was creasing her perfectly tucked in sheets. _

_"__I'm bored," he shrugged, resting his flattened palms back against her bed. "I figured you could entertain me."_

_She rolled her eyes, which was a regular occurrence when she was with him. "I'm busy."_

_Pausing, he looked around her room, taking in the cleanliness before his eyes widened. "What's wrong?"_

_She was taken aback, not expecting him to recognize her mood. "What do you mean?"_

_"__You only clean when you're upset," he said, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees and lacing his fingers together. "So what's wrong?"_

_Parting her lips, she momentarily pondered asking him how he could possibly know that before deciding against it. "Nothing's wrong."_

_"__You're lying."_

_Sighing, she squeezed her eyes shut, hoping he would disappear, but sighed reluctantly again when she opened them and he was still sitting on her bed, waiting for a response. _

_"__I'm just having a rough day," she explained, setting her dust rag down on top of her desk. _

_"__Is it because of your mom?"_

_Her gaze shot up to meet his and her eyes widened at his concern. "How do you know about that? How do you know about anything?"_

_It was a valid question. She were pretty sure the most in depth conversation the two of them had ever had was about tacos. Her relationship was Stiles wasn't exactly conventional. They weren't friends, at least, not the kind that shared secrets, but they were far more than acquaintances, seeing as they'd grown up across the street from each other and had seen each other's ups and downs. To her, it seemed like he just appeared in her life any time he thought convenient without a thought as to whether she actually wanted him there. _

_Which was why she hadn't been too surprised when he'd walked into her room. But she was surprised that he knew that her mother had to postpone her return home from her overseas sabbatical for another two months. As far as she could remember, she'd only mentioned it in passing because she'd received the news via text message while walking to class with Stiles earlier in the day. _

_"__Because I pay attention when you speak," he replied simply, "Do you want to talk about it?"_

_"__No," she whispered, unable to look him in the eye. What she wanted was to cry silently into her pillow, but wasn't about to admit that to him. It was possible that she was overreacting, but she missed her mother terribly and she'd already been gone for six months. _

_There was a moment of silence while she stared at the floor before she felt strong arms wrap around her, squeezing her tightly. She looked up in confusion to find Stiles holding her in an embrace, his hands slowly rubbing up and down her back. Her first instinct was to push him away; mostly because the situation was so foreign. Sometimes he'd hug her quickly in excitement, or give her a friendly kiss on the cheek as a hello or goodbye, but there was something about this particular hug that was much more intimate. Still, his arms were warm and inviting and she soon couldn't help but melt into his chest and clutch his shirt in her hands as she blinked back tears furiously. _

_"__I know you miss her," he whispered, resting his chin on top of her head, "It must be hard."_

_She blinked in confusion because she couldn't understand how he could possibly know exactly what she was thinking. But she decided not to question it, closing her eyes and sobbing quietly into his chest as his palms rubbed gentle circles into her back. _

**I hate it so much it makes me sick, it even makes me rhyme **

_She'd had a tune stuck in her head all day. _

_It was Stiles's fault. He'd been humming it all through her history class that morning and he'd gotten it stuck in her head. It wasn't familiar to her, so she decided to write it down in hopes it would leave her alone. She sat at the piano, transcribing the hummed notes to paper and gleaming with accomplishment when it was finished. _

_That should have been the end of it. The tune was now stricken from her mind and she could move on with her life. Unfortunately, the more she hummed, the more she found herself coming up with lyrics to along with the melody. _

_Sighing, she shook her head as she picked up her pencil and scribbled down the words. It seemed Stiles had become her new muse. _

**I hate the way you're always right**

_She was furious. She wasn't sure why she was so worked up, but she was. _

_Just generally, everything Hayden Michaels did annoyed her to no end. But she tended to ignore how obnoxious he was during class because she believed in being the bigger person. However, this was the last straw. _

_He'd asked if he could check his answers to the chemistry assignment her class was assigned against hers and she'd agreed, thinking it was great that he was starting to care about his grades, but to her horror, she discovered that he'd actually copied her assignment word for word. _

_There was nothing she hated more than cheating and she was mortified that someone would betray her trust in such a way. _

_She glared at Hayden from across the lunch room, fully ready to launch a verbal attack when a hand wrapped around her wrist and stopped her from moving. She was spun around quickly and glared harder when she came face to face with Stiles. _

_"__Let me go," she seethed through gritted teeth. "I have something to do."_

_"__No, you don't," he warned, keeping his grip tight around her wrist and strengthening his position by placing his other hand on her shoulder. "Let it go."_

_She gaped at him furiously before sputtering out, "Let it go? He cheated off me and now I'm getting in trouble because the teacher thinks I was involved."_

_"__I know," he sighed, his fingers gripping her shoulder tightly, "But lashing out at him isn't going to make things better."_

_"__How can she say that?" she gasped. "Of course it will make it better. Do you have any idea how much I consistently want to slap him across the face?"_

_"__I know," Stiles replied in a soothing voice, his hand moving from her shoulder to rub her arm comfortingly while his other dropped from her wrist. "But revenge just makes you look bad as well. In the long run, it's not worth it."_

_She couldn't come up with a reply, so she waited for him to continue. _

_"__Think of it this way," he said, "The teacher is already calling him out for cheating and as long as you tell your story honestly and know that I'm here to back you up, it'll all work out."_

_She blinked. His logic made sense and that annoyed her even more. Of the two of them, Stiles wasn't supposed to be the sensible one. _

_Sighing, she nodded and shook out her arms when he dropped his hands, turning to collect her lunch and walking back into the school. _

_As usual, he was right. _

**I hate it when you lie**

_He was late. Not that it was unusual for him to be late, but that didn't make it any less irritating. _

_Sighing in frustration, she checked her phone, sending him yet another text message asking where he was. This time she actually got a reply after a few minutes. _

**_I'm sick. Can't work today. Sorry. _**

_Pursing her lips, she nodded. She couldn't be upset about that, after all it wasn't his fault. _

**_It's alright. Get well soon. _**

_She sighed deeply as she put down her phone and looked around her bedroom. She'd told Stiles she'd help him with an essay for their history class and now that he'd cancelled, she wasn't quite sure what to do with her time. _

_An epiphany struck and she quickly rose from her bed and hurried out the door. A few minutes later, she was walking briskly towards Stiles's house with a tub of soup she'd bought from the local store. The least she could do was make him feel better. Lord knows he'd done the same for her too many times to count. _

_She was walking up his front pathway when she spotted him through the front window, looking healthy as could be as he and Scott engaged in some sort of video game tournament. _

_Furious, she turned on her heel and marched back towards her house, muttering at the nerve he had to blow her off. She huffed angrily as she entered her house, vowing never to help Stiles again. _

**I hate it when you make me laugh**

_Wiping a stray tear from her face, she buried her head in her pillow with every intention of sleeping away the grief. This morning, she'd found her beloved pet goldfish floating upside down in his bowl. Although it may have seemed silly to some to be so emotional over a pet, George had been with she through many of the difficult times of her early teenage years and she weren't sure what she would do without him. _

_She turned her face into the pillow, using the soft fabric to soak up her tears as she hiccupped. A warm hand in the small of her back caused she to raise her head, and she blinked to make sure she wasn't hallucinating when she came face to face with Stiles. _

_"__Hi?" she greeted in confusion, her voice sounding watery. _

_"__I thought you could use a friend," he said warmly, lying down beside her, folding his hands behind his head._

_"__Thanks," she sniffled, not liking the fact that she kept finding herself crying in front of him, "But I'm fine."_

_"__You don't look fine."_

_She glared at him, turning on her side to face him. "I'm fine."_

_He stared at her for a moment, his brow furrowed slightly because he didn't believe her, before nodding and smiling widely. "Hey, want to hear this joke Scott told me the other day?"_

_"__Sure," she said slowly, surprised by the sudden change in conversation. Stiles wasn't generally so quick to let things go. _

_"__What do you call cheese that's not yours?"_

_"__What?"_

_"__Nacho cheese!"_

_Despite the corniness of the joke, she burst out laughing, burying her head in her pillow and crying tears of an entirely different kind. _

_"__That's awful," she laughed, lifting her head to look at him again. "Worst joke ever."_

_"__It got you to smile, didn't it?" he grinned, extremely proud of himself. _

_"__Yeah," she whispered, wondering if she would ever be able to figure him out. "It did."_

**Even worse when she make me cry**

_He was unusually excited. Granted, Stiles was usually a ball of energy, but today when he came bounding up to her in the hallway at school, there was an extra lightness to his step. _

_"__What's gotten into you?" she asked, unable to keep from smiling at the wide grin on his face, because Stiles's happiness was contagious. _

_"__I have a date tonight," he said proudly, puffing out his chest. _

_Her smile faltered for a second and her heart sank, but she kept up appearances. "Oh yeah? Who with?"_

_"__Malia."_

_Her hand froze on her combination lock as she struggled to remember the code. Malia was the girl Stiles hadn't been able to stop talking about for the past two weeks. As far as Lydia could tell, she had virtually no flaws. _

_"__Good for you," she gulped, finally remembering the combination and pulling open her locker with more force than necessary. _

_"__I'm going to ask her to the dance tonight."_

_Her heart stopped for a moment and she turned slowly to face Stiles. "The dance? I thought we were going together?"_

_He looked confused for a moment before shooting her an apologetic smile. "I know we talked about it, but we never made actual plans. Besides, you don't mind, right? I mean, you don't actually want to go with me. Now you can go with someone you actually like."_

_"__I like you," she replied a bit too quickly. _

_"__Oh, I know," he nodded, fingers gripping the straps of his backpack a little tighter. "I meant in a non-friendship way."_

_She blinked before shooting him her most reassuring smile. "It's fine. I'm sure you'll have a great time."_

_"__Thanks, Lydia," he exclaimed, stepping forward to pull her into a tight hug, "You're the best friend ever."_

_She shot him a tight lipped smile and waved as he jogged down the hallway. That night, she put on the new dress she'd bought for the dance and stared at herself in the mirror, wondering why she'd suddenly developed such a dislike for the word friend. _

**I hate it when you're not around**

_It was a beautiful night and as she sat in her front yard and plucked at blades of grass, she thought the world had never been more peaceful. The stars were out in full force and the crickets were chirping and she deeply inhaled the magnolia scented air and smiled contently. _

_Her smile widened at the sight of the beat up blue Jeep Stiles had gotten for his birthday pulling up in front of his house. Lips parting, she meant to call out for him, wanting to ask if he wanted to join her in her evening of not doing much beneath the stars, but stopped short when she noticed Malia getting out from the passenger side. _

_They'd been hanging out pretty regularly now, perhaps even steadily dating, which was causing Lydia to have all kinds of conflicting emotions. On one hand, every time she saw Stiles at school, he looked absolutely giddy and love struck, but on the other, in class was the only time she saw him anymore. _

_Over the past year, he'd become one of her best friends and she was starting to miss the way he'd spontaneously stop by her house and ask if she wanted to get ice cream or just drive around and blast music and sing really badly. He spent most of his free time with Malia now, which Lydia completely understood, but she felt as though there was a hole in her life nonetheless._

_She perked up when he got out of the car, noticing her across the street and grinning widely as he raised his hand in a wave. Malia did the same, because she was honestly the sweetest girl ever, and Lydia returned the greeting before they turned and walked up the pathway to Stiles's house, fingers linked and swinging lightly. _

_She watched them giggle and exchange sweet kisses before disappearing into Stiles's house and as the front door closed, she whispered, thinking just maybe he'd actually hear her. "I miss you."_

**And the fact that you didn't call **

_It should have been the best day ever. Birthdays were meant to be special, exciting, and absolutely fantastic. _

_But despite the multitude of presents and wishes she'd received thus far, all she could focus on was the absence of a certain brunette boy. _

_She hadn't seen him all day, which was unusual because on her last birthday he'd bought her an extremely embarrassing cake, complete with a leprechaun that jumped out of the middle and sang. _

_Biting her bottom lip, she checked her phone, thinking he had called and maybe she missed it. To her delight, she found a notification, but her heart sank slightly when she saw it was a text message. Sighing, she clicked the 'open' button. _

**_Hey, Lydia! Happy Birthday! Hope it's a good one._**

_A text. A text with very minimal words. He hadn't even bothered to call. Instead, he'd sent a vague and friendly text message. _

_The kind you send to someone you need to wish but would rather not actually talk to. She blinked back tears as she threw her phone at her bed, wondering why she cared so much. _

**But most of all I hate the fact that I don't hate you**

_This was the worst kind of want, she decided as she watched him adorably feed his pretty girlfriend during lunch._

_The kind where she wanted someone so badly, was sitting right beside them, but knew she could never have them._

_Stiles and Malia had been dating for six months, which was quite an accomplishment for the boy who swore he was afraid of commitment. Every day for the past six months, she had watched him walk into school looking happier than she'd ever seen him. And every night, she would lie awake wondering why her heart was so heavy because if Stiles was happy, then she should have been happy as well. _

_She shouldn't feel this way, she thought as she watched him tuck a strand of hair behind Malia's ear and lean forward to kiss her sweetly on the lips._

_This was Stiles she was thinking about. Stiles who was cocky and obnoxious and immature and irritating and sweet and charming and kind and caring and loyal…_

_She sighed. She hated that she felt so helpless. She'd sworn long ago that she'd never let a boy twist her into knots. Shaking her head, she got up to go back to work, wondering what it meant that this time, she might not mind being twisted. _

**Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all**

_You're so in love with me and you can't even see it. _

Those had been the words he'd said to her in the hallway that morning. He'd come to school looking far grumpier than he had since he'd starting dating Malia, and somehow, the two of them had ended up bickering. She wasn't sure how her calling him out on his mood had wound its way into him accusing her of being in love with him, but it happened. At the time, she thought the accusation was absolutely ridiculous, but as she paced back and forth in her room after school, she wondered if perhaps he had a point. It took her two hours of pacing and making a list of things she hated about him in order to prove him wrong to realize that his accusation was completely valid.

She stared wide eyed out the window as it dawned on her that in the midst of their bickering and laughing and the nights when they didn't say anything at all; she'd fallen hard for Stiles.

He'd been right. And that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was that she'd been so completely blind.

Of course he would notice first. She'd never been particularly observant. Insightful, perhaps. Intuitive, maybe. But observant, no.

After all, it had taken her ten encounters with Jackson before she understood that he was trying to ask her out. But that was beside the point.

The point was…well, Stiles. He was everything. He had always been the point, she just hadn't realized it.

She really should have known. He was usually right about these sorts of things. She'd just been so stubborn, so unwilling to believe that it was true.

But now that she had fully come to accept her feelings, it was time to vocalize them to the person who mattered the most.

With a determined nod, she reached for her phone, taking a deep breath before she dialed his number because she wasn't sure whether or not he was home. He picked up after two rings, but due to the thunderstorm outside, the connection was weak at best and he ended the call before they could actually have a conversation.

So she decided to do it in person. Throwing her phone to the side, she grabbed her keys and jogged out the door, ignoring the rain as she sprinted across the street and knocked furiously on Stiles's front door. It swung open a few moments later and she let out a sigh of relief at Stiles's confused furrowed brow, thinking a grand declaration would have seemed ridiculous if he hadn't even been home.

"Lydia? What are you doing here?" he asked, stepping aside to let her out of the rain.

"I made a list," she replied, as if that explained everything, shaking off some spare water droplets.

Rather than respond, he shook his head and closed the door, disappearing into the hallway to grab a towel before returning and gesturing for her to dry off.

"Why are you here, Lydia?" he asked quietly as she rang out the ends of her hair.

"Because of the list," she replied, dabbing her less damp hair a bit more before striding into the kitchen to lay the towel atop a chair.

"Right," he deadpanned, following she, "You mentioned that."

She nodded as she began to pace in the space between the kitchen and the hallway. "I made a list of all of the things that I hate about you."

Looking up, she found him staring at her with a bewildered expression. "Why?"

She parted her lips to speak but he cut her off.

"If this about what I said, I'm sorry," he said, wincing as he recalled the angry words he'd spat out at she a few hours earlier, "I didn't mean it, I was just angry and it was something to say."

"But you were right," she spoke quietly.

His head snapped up and he gazed into her eyes, trying to decide whether or not she were being sincere. "What are she saying?"

"That I'm in love with you, Stiles," she said simply, standing her ground, her shoulders thrust back and her head held high as she looked at him standing in the front hall, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. "I think I have been for a while now and I'm sorry that it took me this long to figure it out. But you know how unobservant I am."

He laughed and nodded, taking a slow step towards her. "You're so perceptive about other people, but you have no insight into yourself. Or me, for that matter."

Her heart began to pound because she had knots in the pit of her stomach telling her that his next words would cause her heart to break.

"She still don't get it, do you, Lydia?" he smiled, taking another step towards her, "I'm in love with you, too."

She blinked. That wasn't the response she was expecting.

"What about Malia," she stammered out, referring to the girlfriend he'd been so giddy over just a few days before.

"We broke up," he said softly, now coming to a stop so that they were toe to toe.

"When?" Her voice came out shaky, her heart racing as the realization of what could possibly happen next crashed down on her.

"This morning. Why did you think I was so upset when I saw you?"

"I did think it was strange," she admitted, because although Stiles was emotional, she had never seen him that upset. "You're not usually so angry after breakups."

"That's because usually, I'm the one doing the breaking," he laughed, showing no trace of the fact that his heart had recently been broken.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Malia broke up with you? Why?"

"Because of you," he shrugged, the corners of his lips turning upwards, causing his adorable dimples to pop.

"I don't understand," she replied with a quizzical brow, running a hand through her damp hair.

"She said she couldn't be with me while I had feelings for someone else. And she was right. Our relationship was never fair to her."

Once again, not an answer she was expecting. "That means…you had feelings for me before you started dating Malia."

"Lydia," Stiles sighed, smiling softly and shaking his head, "I've had feelings for you since the third grade."

"Then why didn't you ever say anything before?" she wondered aloud. Surely if he'd made his feelings known earlier, she wouldn't have remained oblivious for so long.

He shrugged. "Because you always acted like you hated me. I figured if I told you how I felt; it would just make you hate me more."

"I've never hated you, Stiles," she sighed heavily, wishing she'd lowered her walls around him earlier. He gave her a pointed look and she rolled her eyes. "Ok, maybe a little at the beginning. But that changed."

"When?"

"About an hour ago. When I made the list."

"I don't understand," he laughed lightly, "How can making a list of things you hate about me make you realize exactly the opposite?"

"Because it made me realize how stupid I was being," she explained, "I never really hated those things about you. I never really hated anything about you. I think I was just scared."

"Scared?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise, removing one hand from his pocket to cautiously hold hers. "Scared of what? Of me?"

"Of my feelings for you," she nodded. "I'd never felt that way about anyone before and I didn't want to end up heartbroken, so I just repressed the feelings and masked them with anger and resentment."

"Lydia," he whispered softly, raising both hands to cup her cheeks in his palms. He tilted her chin upwards so he could gaze directly into her eyes, his own beautiful brown gaze flooding with sincerity. "I would never break your heart."

Blinking she searched for dishonesty or even a hint of insincerity, but the adoration in his eyes was so genuine that she accepted that he would never hurt her on purpose. "Do you promise?"

He nodded once before dipping his head to capture her lips and she sighed against his mouth as she sank into his embrace. Her arms wound around his neck, pulling him close as his hands dropped so his arms could wrap around her waist. Her lips parted and she felt him whisper against her mouth. "I promise. I love you."

She repeated the words back to him, relishing in the warmth of his body and the comfort of his arms, deciding that it was time she made a new list.

Of all the things she loved about Stiles.


End file.
